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LOS ANGELES (CNS) - The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors requested assistance Tuesday from state and federal agencies to remove ash sediment and debris left by the recent wildfires from beaches and coastal waters.
Supervisor Lindsey Horvath said the scale of the fires and rains that followed made it necessary to seek assistance from outside partners.
Horvath said county workers found sediment containing toxic chemicals and heavy metals that burned in the fires, which was particularly harmful to marine ecosystems and could create algal blooms.
The Department of Public Works was asked to coordinate with other departments and report back in 15 days with best practices for cleaning up beaches and coastal waters from toxic or carcinogenic chemicals and debris, studying previous response efforts.
The board directed the departments of Public Works, Beaches and Harbors and the Office of Emergency Management to identify additional funding opportunities.
Assistance will be sought from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Environmental Restoration's Office of Response and Restoration.
A study was requested to be submitted in five days, detailing whether protocols from an earlier report on protecting county beaches from trash and pollution were followed.
"Having the debris go into the ocean is of great concern, especially since we know there are contaminants that are health hazards," Board Chair Kathryn Barger said.
Another report requested back in 10 days was asked to detail the following:
-- existing testing protocols for water and debris;
-- collaboration with the State Water Resources Control Board to expand ocean water sampling to include potential toxins and chemicals;
-- current efforts in partnership with state and local agencies; and
-- Recommendations on improving efforts and resources needed to address impactful events other than a storm.
